The car is on it's 3rd dealer, Subaru corporate told me that the issue will be covered for the life of the vehicle. I recently had an oil valve gasket replaced 2k ago for the p000b code. It's back and i just dropped the car off at another dealership today. They are currently diagnosing the vehicle. This will be my 4th or 5th time it's been in (on record) for this issue. I filed a complaint against the dealership that sold me the car to see if Corporate could do anything about it (maybe force the dealer to buy back the car). Another waiting game. The car currently has 54k miles i bought it new in March 2013.

Even with the assurance that they will continue to fix this issue for free, still doesn't give me a peace of mind as the issue is so sporadic that it prevents me from really enjoying the car(taking long trips/drives, modding, etc...).

Semi-update*
They sent out the regional Subie engineer and have assured me that the problem is going to be resolved and that the issue was previously misdiagnosed (3 times).

crazy...
cant wait for update

Update*
Dealer description:
"Scanned all systems and found that when the passenger side exhaust VVT data was compared to the drivers side VVT exhaust data it was sluggish to respond and would over correct causing the ecm to set the code. After studying the data i determined that the passenger side exhaust oil switching valve (OSV) wasn't operating inside its parameters, removed and replace with the new OSV valve with the new rubber and hard 0-rings."

I'm pretty sure that these have been replaced before, but we'll see what happens. Car is back and seems to be running okay.

Hopefully its perm-fixed this time. GL.

Dealership has had my car for 2 weeks now. I'm still waiting to hear back from them. All that the service advisor has told me is that they are constantly talking to Subaru Engineers and trying different things/fixes. Sounds like they are just backed up with cars to work on, imo.

Any updates on this situation? I got the p0016 code and CEL, they replaced 2 sensors I believe and hasn't done the trick as the lights keep returning. They also did the ECU update. I got my car around Feb 2013 and I'm now at 51k miles.

I actually have my car in right now for P0018 which is basically the same. They cannot find what is wrong and are trying to clear the codes yet some keep coming up. They said my ecu had a "clitch" in the system and is not communicating within itself properly. I told them about the ECU reflash TSB and they said my car already has it. They want to keep it overnight so they can "drive it and put some miles on the car, so we can monitor the computer and make sure it's reacting properly with no signs of the CEL to come back."

When I brought my car into the dealer for P0016 earlier this year, they found that some of the readings for the OCV were out of alignment. They ended up replacing my EGI control unit(not sure what it does) but it seemed to fix my p0016 and idle dip issue.

A few months later, P000B comes up and I bring it in for warranty work again. They determined my oil control valve was giving me issues since they swapped banks and it showed up on the other one. OCV ended up being melted or had particles in it which was causing it to have really slow response time.

I got the OCV replaced for free and the car has been running well for half a year now (crossing fingers)

I haven't had any problems since the "fix"(now at 72k miles). You have to be really aggressive with subie/scion and make sure you keep all records of the fixes. This issue happened before the end of your warranty so they should cover it within a reasonable amount of mileage (25kish after warranty). Be firm with them, they gave me a voucher for $750 for my trouble.

On a side note, they removed my exhaust for some reason and stripped one of the bolts for the hangers. Luckily one of my mechanic buddies noticed it and fixed it. It was rattling for months, poor workmanship on the dealer.

Just got an update from dealer and full ECU replacement is the next route. At first, they were not going to do an ECU replacement because the codes being thrown (p0016) was for intake side of engine and did not qualify for ECU replacing. They called Toyota who advised to replace finally.

Thus far:
1) ECU reflash to updated version - didn't work
2) 2 Sensors replaced (possibly cam shaft sensor/OCV sensor??) - didn't work
3) Waiting on full ECU replacement this Friday - crossing fingers

Thank god for Toyota Powertrain warranty 5yrs/60k (car at dealer total of 8 days this Friday).

Undergoing the same issue right now, 2013 BRZ @ 30,000. Did the ecu replacement solve your issue?

yes it did, *crossing fingers it doesn't come back!

Im having the same issues. Cel came on last week with p0016.The car is at the dealer now.

I just received a call saying that they will have the car for about a week and are replacing the intake oil control valve, timing gear and ECU. Hopefully this fixes the problem

Have any of you had to have all of this replaced? If so, did it fix the issue?

it seems everyone with this issue has been going through the same steps of trial and error.

1. OCV, cam sensors, and/or reflash of ECU 2. Cam gear 3. Finally, ECU replacement. Ive been told that once the ECU has read that code it's basically burned into it and requires replacement. However, i am no expert so don't take my word for it. I'm thinking about jumping straight to the ECU replacement, since i am not covered under warranty and am paying this out of pocket and cant afford trial and error.